A hint of spice, heavy on the roast, with notes of toffee and burnt toast. To mark good times with lots of cheer, fill your glass with these holiday beers:

Christmas Ale (Upslope Brewing Co.): Head brewer Alex Violette created a "Belgianized" version of this holiday favorite -- it's based on a home brew Upslope founder Matt Cutter used to bring to holiday parties -- by fermenting the beer with Abbey Ale Yeast. The result is a spiced Belgian-style Dubbel with a deep, ruby red hue and rich caramel and dark fruit flavors throughout.

The malty sweetness serves as a welcome foil for the holiday spices.

Warming and well-balanced, this bigger beer drinks like a Barleywine, with added depth of flavor emerging as it warms.

It's available in 16-ounce can four packs and on draft in the Upslope taproom.

Christmas Ale (Breckenridge Brewery): Breckenridge has brewed this winter warmer since 1993, and the staff still gets together each year to hand-label special commemorative bottles. It's also available in six packs and, new this year, in 5-liter mini-kegs that are perfect for parties.

This flavorful ale balances notes of caramel, toast and spiced chocolate against an assertive malt base, with a subtle spiciness surfacing from the judicious use of Chinook and Mount Hood hops.

This big and robust Baltic-style porter melds dark fruits, molasses, roasted malt, dark chocolate and toffee in a complex and satisfying brew that only gets better with age. It's worth picking up a few bottles -- to enjoy now and next year.

Brewed in the Russian Imperial Stout style, it's a big, yet smooth-drinking beer loaded with dark fruit and chocolate flavors against a rich and roasty base. Horst has also experimented with a few barrel-aged versions of Black Saddle Stout that are worth seeking out.

Fade to Black Vol. 4 (Left Hand Brewing Co.): This is offered in a different style each year, but it's always timed to release at the end of daylight saving time.

This year's version features an interplay of dark and light with a rich and roasty base punctuated by a bright, citrus-y hop bitterness that shines through like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds. The Black IPA style is all about balance, and Left Hand executes it quite well in this beer.

Euphoria Pale Ale (Ska Brewing Co.): This beer marches to the beat of its own drummer boy, much like the brewery itself.

Rather than a spiced, malt-driven ale, as one might expect, this pale ale delivers a lighter take on a winter seasonal and is characterized by piney, resinous hops with swirls of spruce tips, grapefruit and orange peel. Brewed in collaboration with Venture Snowboards, it's a refreshing choice for après ski.

A Honey of a Saison (Boulder Beer Co.): This sweet new seasonal from Boulder Beer is a French-style Saison brewed with nearly 500 pounds of locally sourced honey. It weighs in at 11 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and is available in 22-ounce bombers and on draft.

Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout (New Belgium Brewing Co.): The nose on this robust beer smells like a freshly brewed cup of java, thanks to the local, sustainably produced coffee used in the brew. Rather than overwhelm the flavor, the coffee balances nicely with dark chocolate and rich, roasted malts in a rich and robust package. Part of the Lips of Faith series, this beer is available in 22-ounce bombers.

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